Bangladesh and India signed and exchanged on Saturday the historic instruments of ratification on Land Boundary Agreement (LBA) formalising the long-pending issue between the two countries, reports UNB.
Bangladesh Foreign Secretary M Shahidul Haque and Indian External Affairs Ministry Secretary Dr S Jaishankar exchanged the document on behalf of their respective countries.
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi and West Bengal Chief Minister Narendra Modi witnessed the exchange of ratification instruments.
"History is made as the Instruments of Ratification of the Land Boundary Agreement are exchanged," Indian Prime Minister's Office tweeted after the exchange ceremony.
The Secretaries also exchanged original instruments of ratification signed by the Bangladesh Prime and Indian President and letter of modalities for implementation of the LBA of 1974 and the protocol 2011.
Now that the agreement and protocol would soon be implemented and it is Bangladesh's expectation that the quality of life of some 51,000 people in the enclaves will improve significantly.
All the inhabitants of the 162 enclaves can now look forward to having national identity and enjoy the same benefits and services as others living outside the enclaves.
Right after independence, Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman undertook the initiative to permanently settle the border issues in a just and peaceful manner.
As a result, the historic Land Boundary Agreement (LBA) was signed in 1974 between Bangabandhu and Indira Gandhi.
The Bangladesh Jatiya Sangsad gave effect to the agreement by amending certain provisions of the Bangladesh Constitution through the Third Constitutional Amendment of 1974. In 2011, a protocol was signed to further streamline the issues related to implementation of demarcation.
Earlier this month, the people of the two countries saw the live telecast of the proceedings in the Indian Parliament when the bill for amending the constitution was placed for ratifying the LBA.
The unanimous adoption of the bill in Lok Shabha and Rajya Shabha is a manifestation of the goodwill and love of the people of India for the people of Bangladesh, according to Foreign Ministry here.
India also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the government to provide Bangladesh with $2.0 billion (200 crore) line of credit (LoC) to support funding for physical infrastructure projects, reports BSS.
Officials at the finance ministry told earlier that the fund would be used for development of railway, power, health, education, ICT and water transports on a priority basis.
Following the signing of the agreement, Modi said the deals would give a new dimension to India-Bangladesh relations.
"22 important agreements have been signed today that will give a new dimension to India-Bangladesh ties," Modi tweeted following the signing of the agreement.
The Indian premier also posted a full list of the 22 agreements signed, exchanged, adopted and handed over between Bangladesh and India.
Bangladesh and India signed 22 agreements and MoUs in total on the same day aiming to make their existing strong ties more meaningful and contribute to regional cooperation.
